Brassiere-top sleeping garment



Aug. 13, 1940. M. M. SEMONS BRASSIERE-I'OP SLEEPING GARMENT Filed ma 26, 1938 INVENTOR MIRIAM M. SEMONS ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 13, 1940 uNrrad STATES PATENT, OFFICE 8 Claims.

The invention relates in general to a woman's v sleeping garment oi the nightgown or pajama type and particularly relates to the upper breast retaining or rather breast locating portion of such a sleeping garment. More specifically defined the invention relates to a breast disposing bandage for permitting and resisting movements of pendulous, unusually large, or other forms of abnormal breasts, while the woman is in a prone 10 position and in this aspect of. the disclosure is not limited to its use as a sleeping garment.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a woman's sleeping garment which will facilitate a desired freedom of body movement of the wearer while sleeping in a lateral prone position and incidentally to provide certain permissible localized give and resistance to give to breast movements and thus provide curative advantages or corrective advantages to women having pendulous breasts while sleeping.

Broadly, the invention contemplates the providing of a brassiere-like type of body-fitting form to the upper portion of a sleeping garment and which is designed as a-whole to meet those conditions present while the wearer is in a prone position rather than to-meet those conditions while the wearer is in an upright position. The present disclosure is not to be confused with a brassiere which is designed to maintain the breasts in an elevated and somewhat firmly bound position while the wearer is upright, for

such a tight restraining article would be quite uncomfortable ii worn while asleep. While in a recumbent position, vertically directed strains due to the weight of the pendulous breasts are, of course, not present so that in a sleeping garment there is no need, and, on the contrary, there is a disadvantage in providing the rugged support and usually more or'less rigid support totake up the weight of heavy breasts with the almost necessary requirement that the breasts as elevated in a brassiere must be held rather firmly against the chest or stemal region oi the wearer.

While lying on one side or the other, other conditions develop which brassieres as such are not particularly intended to meet. As a person lies on one side, for instance, the normally lower thereto and creating an uncomfortable position which becomes quite annoying in warm weather, with incidental development of perspiration.

The present disclosure features a sleeping garment particularly designed to provide for the retention or locating of pendulous breasts only approximately in a normal position and at the same time to provide for freedom of movement of. the wearer while in a recumbent position and which when the wearer is standing upright will at least to some extent provide a body fitting or brassiere-fitted effect.

Broadly this invention is attained by a pecu= liar formation of sectioned breast containing pockets which will provide sufiicient strength and ruggedness of material when the wearer is vertical to underlap and maintain the weight of the pendulous breasts in an elevated position, and also to provide in the underlapping section for at least a limited degree of stretch horizontally to accommodate itself to the mass oi..the breasts. considered'below the horizontal nipple line when the wearer is lying on one or the other side.

While it is the intent of the disclosure to restrain movement of the elevated breasts towards the underarm portion of the wearers body, the present disclosure is a compromise of conflicting requirements in that while the lower part of the breast is influenced to bulge outwardly and in this way accommodate a large portion of the mass, there is permitted some lateral extension, both towards the opposite breast and towards the underarm portion but in general andin those cases where the breasts are not too large, this lateral permissible stretch is reduced as far as possible. The upper portion of. the breast containing pocket is positively restrained from any such lateral flow-of the breast towards the arm pit or towards the other breast.

As the mass of the breast above the horizontal nipple line must go somewhere, it is herein suggested that the upper sections have a relatively high degree of elasticity considered vertically so as to conform to the rotundity oi the upper portion of the elevated breasts and thus form a smooth body fitting and neat contour to the upper front of the top of the gown while resisting any lateral spread.

' While the invention features a certain degree of. flexibility, stretch or elasticity to the upper portion of the pocket considered vertically when in upright position, it is appreciated that breasts of the type under consideration are heavy and it otherwise unsupported the top section of the pocket would be strained outwardly and downwardly with resulting distortion. This necessitates the use of shoulder straps or braces for suspending each breast weight from the adjacent shoulder. This places a line of pull or tension longitudinally along the shoulder straps, particularly at the front portion thereof, across the vertically stretchable upper section to the nipple area of the non-vertically stretchable lower section. This develops a contradictory requirement along the vertical nipple line which may be met by placing a seam or reinforcing tape along the upper breast overlapping section but this is ob- Jectionable for aesthetic reasons and accordingly in the accompanying showing the upper section is shown of one piece, smooth and continuous across the top of the breast, dependence being had on the material of which the cup-forming sections are made in order to give the requisite stretch in the desired direction while providing sufiicient resistance to abnormal stretch of the shoulder strap.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be in part obvious from an inspection of the accompanying drawing and in part will be more fully set forth in the following particular description of one form of garment embodying the invention, and the invention also consists in certain new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view of a preferred embodiment of the invention shown in position on the wearer while lying in a lateral prone position and with the lower arm elevated to expose the breast portion;

Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively a partially front and partially rear elevational showing of the upper portion of the garment shown in Fig. 1 when the wearer is in upright position.

In the drawing, there is shown a nightgown ll including a bust confining top H, a form fitting waist portion l2 and a free fiowing skirt portion l3. The back of the gown is closed by fastening means It herein shown to be of the zipper type and shoulder straps or shoulder pieces I! extend conventionally from the upper edge of the front of the top I I to the rear of the gown adjacent the fastening means II, and in general, except as herein indicated, the showing is intended to represent a standard form of nightgown now on the market. It is obviously within the scope of the disclosure to incorporate the inventive features in a pajama, lounging robe, or, omitting the gown aspect of the disclosure, to embody the inventive features in what might be called a night brassiere or in a surgical breast retaining bandage particularly designed for hospital use where it is desired to maintain the breasts elevated or for use by nursing mothers where it is desired to avoid the after effects of filled breasts.

The top ll comprises two breast conforming pockets ii and I1 sewed together at the front center along the sternal line ll. As the pockets are of identical construction, the description of one will be sufficient for the other. The pocket comprises three sections assembled and contoured to give each pocket a substantial semi-spheroid form with the nipple containing portion I 9 somewhat pointed to conform to present style demands of brassicres. The two breast underlapping sections and 2| are of quadrilateral form disposed side by side with their adjacent relatively short curved edges 22' sewed together along the vertical nipple line below the nipple containing portion II. The vertical nipple line indicated by the dotted line 23 defines a vertical plane containing the wearer's nipple.

A breast overlapping section N is of somewhat long fiat triangular form with a long edge II sewed to the upper edges of the sections II and 2| along the horizontal nipple line. The horizontal nipple line indicated by the dotted line 2| defines a horizontal plane containing the wearer's nipple and the lines 23 and 28 intersect at the nipple area I O. The upper edge 21 of section It is cut V-shaped to provide a high corner It in the vertical nipple line and which upper edges curve downwardly in both directions from the corner 28 to form a fiat V-configuration at the top of each breast pocket.

The front of the top also includes a long, narrow diaphragm strip 20 of slightly greater width at its front and reducing in vertical width towards opposite ends. The diaphragm strip 1! is sewed to the lower edges of all four of the quadrilateral breast underlapping sections and is designed to fit snugly against the diaphragm of the wearer immediately below the breast while in elevated position and thus occupying the area which would otherwise be covered by the unsupported breasts while in their normal pendulous position. The diaphragm strip is particularly designed to prevent the breasts from squeezing themselves out of their containing pockets downwardly while the garment is in use.

Thefront of the top is retained in snug engagement with the front of the wearer by two back sections 30 and II, the free ends of which are secured together by the fastening means H. The front edges of the back sections are secured each to their adjacent pocket forming sections and diaphragm strips along straight underarm edges 32.

While it is within the scope of this disclosure to form the breast retaining portion of the garment as thus far described, the present disclosure particularly features a selective arrangement in certain desired directions of give or elasticity to the component sections.

In the illustrated disclosure, the back sections 30 and II have a limited degree of elasticity in a horizontal direction as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3 but are substantially unstretchable in a vertical direction transverse to the direction indicated by the arrows.

Similarly, the diaphragm strip 29 is free to stretch horizontally as indicated by the lower curved arrow in Fig. 2 so that the diaphragm strip and the two back sections coast to provide an elastic belt or band encircling the body of the wearer at the front in the region just below the area of the elevated breasts.

The quadrilateral breast underlapping sections, 20 and 2|, possess a limited degree of stretch in a somewhat horizontal direction, not strictly horizontal as was the case in the diaphragm strip but slightly inclined upwardly from each of the edges 32 and from the stemal line it towards the adjacent vertical nipple line; that is, slightly inclined upwardly towards the corner 2| as indicated by the short arrows'on Fig. 2. It is a feature of this disclosure that these under-lapping sections have no appreciable stretch vertically, that is at right angles to the direction indicated by the short arrows, so that the portion of the pocket underlapping the breasts have a limited freedom of stretch in the directions indicated by the arrows thereon but are resistant to any stretch in a vertical direction. While the sections feature elasticity within their areas, the seams connecting the several sections are not stretchable along. their lengths, and in this way the nipple containing areas I! are substantially fixed in place.

On the contrary, the breast overlapping sections 24 have a limited freedom of stretch verti- -cally as indicated by the arrows thereon but haveno material permissible stretch horizontally, that is. at right angles to the direction indicated by the arrows. It is particularly noted that the section overlapping the breast is free of seams between its outlining edges and thus provides a smooth, continuous shaped contour to the upper portion of each breast.

From this construction it is appreciated that whenthe gown is put on and at which time the wearer is standing vertically the breasts are man- .ually elevated into position to be contained each in its associated pocket, after which the zipper fastener at the back is closed. The breasts being more or less pliable, will distend the pockets outwardly but wfll be supported and restrained from falling down into their normal pendulous position by the rugged resistance provided by the vertically non-stretchable underlapping sections which are contoured to provide a custom-de signed, fit to the undersides of the particular breasts for which the garment is intended.

The horizontal stretch of the material provides for a limited degree of horizontal spread of the lower portion of the breasts as above indicated.

The breast overlapping section 24 with its vertical permissible stretch is designed, dimensioned and contoured to flt over the elevated breasts, but

care is exercised not to place an undue restraintsuggested that the edges be bound by an elastic 33 which will tend to maintain the edges in snug but not binding engagement with the skin of the wearer. The shoulder straps l5 are preferably formed of inelastic material and of a strength sumcient to transmit strains on the breast pockets direct to the shoulders and thus tend to maintain the pockets in position irrespective of any weight therein which may tend to cause them to sag. However, it is obviously within the scope of the disclosure to provide for a limited stretch longitudinally of the straps especially where some give is needed at the high point 28.

The main portion of the nightgown, that is the skirt and waist portion, may be formed of any material such as is usually used in such garments such as silk, cotton, rayon or other soft material, and it is suggested that the top forming section be formed of any material which has a greater stretch in one direction than in another and it is herein suggested that an elastic material now on the market and known generally as Lastex may be used. As materials like Lastex have an'unfinished rubberized appearance, it is suggested that this portion of the garment be covered by some decorative material such as the lace shown at 34 in Fig. 3.

By means of a garment top such as herein disclosed it is possible for the wearer to move about in bed with the freedom of movement necessary with sleeping garments and to sleep comfortably without necessity of manually relocating her breasts and shifting them into an out-of-the-way position every time she rolls from sideto side. The breasts considered as a whole are permitted a limited degree of shift towards one side or the other depending on which side is lowermost to avoid any feeling of muscular pull or restraint; are permitted to raise on the chest and attain the necessary clearance to accommodate their bulk but their upper portions are not permitted to flow laterally into the arm pits. This is a vitally distinctive feature of the disclosure.

The garment does not givethe visual eifect of a nightgown; it looks more like a fltted house dress so that the wearer of the garment if called up to go to the front door, for instance, does not have the feelingthat she is appearing in her nightgown. The garment can be used as a lounging or breakfast gown giving a neat dressed appearance to the wearer without necessity of wearing a brassiere.

While there have been shown, described and pointed out in the annexed claims, certain novel features of the invention, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form and details of the garment illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

l. A woman's sleeping garment for locating pendulous breasts in an elevated, approximately normal position while the bearer is upright and for permitting a limited lateral movement of the lower portion of each of the elevated breasts while the wearer is in a lateral prone position on either side, the front side of said garment composed of a pair of breast uplifting and confining pockets sewed together along the-sternal line and substantially non-stretchable along said sternal line, each pocket comprising three sec-" tions and including a pair of breast underlapping sections sewed together along the vertical nipple line and substantially non-stretchable along said line, and a breast overlapping section sewed to the-two underlapping sections along the horizontal nipple line, the sewing of said three sections providing a T-shaped seam tending to resist stretching along each of its lengths and leaving the overlapping section free of seams between its outlining edges, the underlapping sections 'coacting to provide a slight degree of elasticity horizontally in either direction from the nipple area to the sternal line but not vertically, and the overlapping section providing a slight degree of elasticity vertically but not horizontally whereby the greater extensibility of the underlapping sections is at right angles to that of the overlapping section, and a back portion connecting the two pockets forming the front side and coacting therewith to provide'a snug body encircling band.

2. An article of apparel including a pair 0 breast uplifting and retaining pockets, one for each breast and sewed together along the sternal line, the portion of each pocket underlapping the associated breast having a slight freedom of expansion horizontallyiconsidered from the sternal line to the adjacen side, but relatively notidistendable vertically, t e portion of each pocket overlapping the associated breast having a slight freedom of expansion vertically between the eternalline and the adjacent side to make room for the associated elevated breast but relatively non-distendable horizontally between the eternal line and the adjacent side to resist the upper portion of the elevated breast from shitting into the arm pit area of the wearer.

3. In a woman's sleeping garment including two identical breast supporting pockets each comprising solely three sections oi material, each section having a greater degree oi. stretch in one direction than at right angles to said direction, said sections comprising two lower similar sections or quadrilateral form secured together along a vertical nipple line and an upper section secured to the top edges or the two lower sections along a horizontally disposed nipple line, the material forming each o! the two lower section having its greater degree of stretcha'biiity along parallel lines substantially parallel to said horizontal nipple line and said lines of stretch in the lower sections being inclined slightly downward from the associated vertical nipple line and the upper section having its greater degree of stretchability in parallel lines and in a direction sub- :gntially perpendicular to said horizontal nipple mamas M. BDLONB. 

